MAKHACHKALA, Russia — Gunmen opened fire on police in southern Russia’s Republic of Dagestan on Monday, killing three officers and wounding at least four others in a broad daylight attack that highlights persistent instability in the volatile North Caucasus region.
The shooting unfolded around 2:20 p.m. local time in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, as officers attempted to stop a vehicle, according to regional head Sergei Melikov and Russia’s Interior Ministry.
Two assailants, both reportedly born in 2000, were shot dead at the scene, officials said. State media reported that other suspects fled the area in a vehicle, prompting an ongoing manhunt involving federal and regional law enforcement.
Footage verified by Reuters and circulating on Telegram appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with bodies lying beside a police cruiser as gunfire echoed in the background. Bystanders can be seen standing nearby in shock.
Four people, including officers and civilians, were hospitalized following the attack, authorities confirmed. Among the injured was a 17-year-old girl. One of the injured later died in the hospital, though it was not immediately clear whether the victim was a civilian or law enforcement officer.
Dagestan authorities have opened a criminal investigation, though they have not provided a possible motive or specified the number of attackers still at large. As of Monday evening, security operations continued throughout the city and surrounding areas.
The incident marks one of the deadliest attacks on Russian law enforcement in the North Caucasus this year.
Located along the Caspian Sea, Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim republic that has experienced years of extremist-related violence, particularly from jihadist groups seeking to undermine Moscow’s control over the region.
Just last month, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced it had killed four alleged ISIS fighters accused of plotting an attack on a local Interior Ministry office in Dagestan. In June 2024, a coordinated assault by armed militants targeting synagogues, churches, and police in the region left at least 20 dead.
The most recent violence in Dagestan follows high-profile attacks across Russia, including the March 2024 massacre at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, which killed at least 133 people. That attack was claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), though Russian officials have also floated unsubstantiated claims of Ukrainian involvement.
While Russia and the United States declared the territorial defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq by 2019, extremist offshoots like ISKP continue to carry out deadly attacks across Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Security analysts warn that the North Caucasus remains a vulnerable frontier for radicalization and cross-border terrorist operations, despite heavy surveillance and counterinsurgency campaigns by Russian security forces.
Officials have not said whether Monday’s attack was linked to any broader extremist movement, but investigations are ongoing amid heightened alert levels across Dagestan.
